Swiss Bliss
- sd1359
- Nov 4, 2019
- 4 min read
If you only have a short stay in Europe, I’d definitely recommend squeezing in a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland but, more so, the Mount Pilatus. Maybe, just pack some snacks and easy meals in your backpack. Even if the cheap airline only allows a backpack, I’d argue it’s worth bringing some food. I’ll tell you why later in the post.
MOUNT PILATUS
Alright, first off, I am convinced that even the most talented photographer would not be able to do the Swiss mountains justice. There is so much depth to them, whether you‘re talking about altitude or color. Plus, there’s the physical feeling of the crisp mountain air that washes over you during the hike. No matter how exhausted you are from your trek up Mount Pilatus, the air will instantly refresh you. Now, to be fair, I didn’t actually hike up the mountain; we rode the gondola up. Then gondolas are not free, but the view you get from them is priceless. Also, if you’re planning to go all the way to the top, you’ll have to take the gondolas the last stretch anyway because the mountain literally goes straight up and would be quite the climb.
At the top of the mountain, there are more stairs going even further up to various lookout points. We passed a lady in her 80s going up the stairs, so you have no excuse to go up if you ever make it there. The view from the lookouts is, while hard to imagine, even more magnificent than from the rest of the top.
After exploring the lookouts, we caved to our hunger because we stayed much later than we’d planned on staying. There is a restaurant at the top of the mountain that, while a bit pricey, is quite a treat! The best deal there was the small salad bowl because you could put as much salad in the bowl as you wanted, and it’d still count as the small. I split an entree and a small salad with two other girls, and it was enough to hold us over for somewhere cheaper. Plus, we get to seat we ate at the top of a swiss mountain. Again, the view was incredible!
We took the gondola part of the way down and hiked the rest. The path almost seemed as if it was not created to be used very much. There were some pretty steep parts where the path was covered in loose gravel. Safe to say, we slid down more than a couple parts. Learn from us and wear good shoes!! Also, if walking down a grassy hill to cut out some of the curvy gravel path ever crosses your mind, remember that the path is there for a reason. The hill is probably a little too steep. It feels especially steep when the grass is dewy and slick. Nonetheless, we made amazing memories, laughing about our shortcuts and slippery adventures. We got to stop along the path to enjoy some snacks, sunshine, and cowbells, which was much needed and very relaxing.
FOOD
Fondue is also a Swiss classic, but it comes with a big price tag. The solution: make your own! COOP is a Swiss grocery store that sells quality store brand chocolate for 50 cents a bar and pieces of bread for about the same. We chose various breads and about 7 bars of chocolates and used the stove in our hostel to whip up our own Swiss chocolate fondue. It was not the most authentic fondue experience, though, because we accidentally added white wine vinegar to the chocolate instead of oil when trying to help the chocolate melt down nicely, but it's stories like that that create the best memories. Anyway, the chocolate still tasted ok. It just came with a little tang, and the gourmet foods are always a bit out there. It also gave us a good in for talking with several other people in the hostel and hearing their stories. Hostels offer such good experiences because you get to meet people from all over the world, and they all have incredibly interesting stories about traveling and living in other countries. You share ideas and get inspired to try new things. Some people get weirded out by the concept of hostels, but I have grown to love them (and their price) this semester.
Hostels are also very nice simply because they often come with a kitchen. In Switzerland, restaurants close very early. Some will stay open for drinks but close down the food service early. Coming from France where dinner doesn't start until at least 7 or 8 pm, we were constantly running into the problem of finding somewhere open, especially one fitting in our price range. We saw many meals that cost about 30 euros and very few that were reasonable. Most days, we ended up back in the train station to get a pastry from the grocery store or a pretzel from a stand.
We did find a pizza place with a Michelin star that had reasonable prices, but we always arrived too late to get food there. In their entryway, however, they have a bowl full of chewy fruit candies that are similar to starbursts and Hi-Chews but a little different. We grabbed a couple when we tried to eat there once, and they were amazing! We found a large bag of them at `COOP the next time we went grocery shopping. I have still been snacking on them. Carrefours in France have similar candies, but they are harder and don't taste as good. Those were our favorite food find in Switzerland. That's not one you ever hear about, but I would 100 percent buy another bag if I go back to Switzerland this semester.
You also see macarons called Luxemburgerlis all over Lucerne. Make sure you try these!! I have been rating macarons across Europe with a couple other girls in my group, and these are our favorite macarons to date. Don't miss out!
ALL IN ALL
Switzerland is one expensive country but it was worth every penny, and we proved that it is possible to do it on a budget. I cannot recommend Mount Pilatus enough. Like I said, the pictures do not do it justice. The views there were incredibly breathtaking and inspiring. Finding food was a challenge at times, but it forced us to walk around the town and see everything there. After walking corner to corner several times each day, I can confidently say Lucerne is a gem! It should be on everyone's European city bucket list.
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